


Nightmares Keep Me Up

by FallApartBoy



Category: teen wolf - Fandom
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Death, Established Relationship, M/M, Nightmare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2015-01-12
Packaged: 2018-03-07 07:38:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3166808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallApartBoy/pseuds/FallApartBoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Ethan dies instead of Aiden and Danny struggles to deal with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares Keep Me Up

Danny clutches his chest, his heart races as his feet slap the cold, wet ground. He can feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing straight in the air; the hot breath of his pursuer feels all too close, but he cannot force himself to turn around and look, for fear of losing what little space he had gained between them. It is barely bright enough to see anyway, the air is thick with fog and the light from the sky is weak, like it’s early twilight or perhaps dawn. His breath is slow but shallow, and he silently thanks Coach for forcing him to run suicide drills at lacrosse practice, as his usually uncoordinated legs carry him swiftly across the field.

The bottoms of Danny’s jeans start to become heavy as the moisture of the mud seeps into the heavy fabric. His muscles burn and his mind races, _I don’t know how long I can do this,_ he thinks to himself, desperately trying to regulate his breathing. He stumbles; his sore feet struggle to find their correct footing, before he pitches over, sliding all the way down a hill he wasn’t even aware of before this very second.

Danny slams into the ground below the hill, and lies still for a moment, the force of his breathing shaking his whole body. He glances around, trying to make out his surroundings, he shakily stands and takes a step away from the edge of the hill, and he can barely make out the shapes of trees in the fog. He takes another step, and then another, and then he can fully see the dark, looming forest before him. He is caught between a rock and a hard place; his pursuer is no doubt making its way down the hill, but he has no idea what evil may await him inside the forest.

“Fuck.” Danny swears softly. He doesn’t have enough time to dawdle on his decision-making, “Fuck.” He swears louder, and then takes off into the forest. He stays along the edge of the forest and he stops at the first sturdy looking pine tree he comes across and he pulls himself up onto a low hanging branch. He climbs as high as he dares to climb and then sits and waits. It seems like a good enough place, and he smiles weakly to himself, proud of his survival skills – his ability to create a plan B on his toes.

Danny sits in his tree for several minutes, watching out for his pursuer, who he still can’t seem to remember or identify. Suddenly the hairs on the small of his neck stand up and he can feel a presence in the tree with him. He looks around wildly, trying to identify the source, but to no avail. Then suddenly he feels strong arms wrap around him and pull him backwards.

                  Danny wakes with a cry, the arms are still around him and he struggles to dislodge his attacker, flailing his arms and legs wildly.

                  “Hey, hey” a familiar voice whispers loudly, and Danny stills, “You’re okay, you’re safe.” The voice reassures and Danny feels the warm press of lips against the top of his head and the arms loosen their grip around his torso. Danny draws in several ragged breaths and he starts to feel his erratic, thumping pulse settling down to normal sinus rhythm. He shuffles around to face the boy behind him.

                  “Ethan...” Danny whispers, smiling tiredly up at him, his muscles ached, as if he really had done all of that running.

                  “Hey kiddo.” Ethan replied, removing a hand from the small of Danny’s back to wipe away some of his sweat soaked hair from his forehead, and then placing a small kiss there, “You’re going to be okay now,” Ethan assures him, “I’m here to protect you.” Danny smiles, pulling himself closer to Ethan. He stretches an arm to rest across his ribcage.

                  “How’d you know?” Danny mumbles and Ethan chuckles,

                  “With all of that thrashing around, how could I not?”

“Sorry if I woke you.” Danny smiles sheepishly, “It was just a dumb nightmare…” Ethan shushes him in response and Danny feels his eyes slowly slip closed.

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Danny groans and buries his face in his pillow; he flails his hand towards his bedside table, grasping for his alarm clock. When he finally finds it he slams on the snooze button and revels in the sudden quiet; he hums to himself quietly.

“Good morning.” Danny announces, eyes still closed, turning over to reach for the warm body beside him, but the sheets are cold and empty. Danny opens his eyes and everything stills for a moment, even his heart ices over – pausing mid beat – as the revelation hits him like a freight train.

_I forgot._

Danny sits up sharply, his head spin and his stomach lurches. His dream temporarily convinced him that this was not his reality. Finally his eyes focus on the suit hanging on his door in its dry cleaning bag, Danny leans over the side of his bed and gags, his chest heaves as his lungs try to pull any oxygen they can find from the stifling air.

_Ethan is dead._

Danny fights back the tears that are clouding his eyesight and he crumples into a ball, slamming himself back onto the bed. He holds his eyelids closed as the sobs begin to shake his bones like the rattling of a train as it passes over the bridge he and Ethan used to climb, and the hot tears force their way through the floodgates. Danny presses his face against his pillow and tries to will himself back into his dream; back to when Ethan was alive.


End file.
